


The Invisible Man

by DoctorProfessorSong



Series: The Other Baby [4]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Cute Jack Kline, Domestic Fluff, Domesticity in the Men of Letters Bunker (Supernatural), F/M, Fluff in the Men of Letters Bunker (Supernatural), Imaginary Friends, Kid Jack, Kid Jack Kline, M/M, Team Free Will 2.0 (Supernatural)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-17
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-25 14:13:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30090324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoctorProfessorSong/pseuds/DoctorProfessorSong
Summary: For most kids, an imaginary friend wouldn’t be a big deal. It’s normal. A phase kids go through. But when you have four hunter parents whose former enemies include Death, God, Primordial Beings and a variety of things that go bump in the night, is there really such a thing as a harmless invisible friend?
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester, Eileen Leahy/Sam Winchester, Michael/Adam Milligan
Series: The Other Baby [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2170503
Comments: 10
Kudos: 78





	The Invisible Man

**Author's Note:**

> This one got a little plottier than I expected, but I think that is a good thing. A few notes for this particular installment:
> 
> 1\. Cas is human in this one.
> 
> 2\. I haven’t gone into great detail, but in this one Jack was united with and split from Amara (which resulted in him being turned into a baby). A full explanation of how that might have happened is in the notes below.
> 
> 3\. I completely tossed Billie’s death. She is Death here because I said so.

Dean's the first to notice it. He's doing routine maintenance on Baby. Changing her oil. Normally, Dean would have done it during the week, but he has a '69 Nova halfway through an engine rebuild and a full 1964 Stingray restoration (she has good bones, but she was in bad shape when she came in). So Dean hasn't been able to pay attention to his girl. It's her turn now. 

As he works, he can hear Jack playing. The five-year old doesn't usually get to come up to the garage. Dean doesn't like having him around all the tools and heavy equipment. But Jack begged and he is getting old enough to follow the rules, so Dean lets him come up today while it's just him and Baby. 

Before he uses the creeper to roll under Baby, he checks on Jack. The kid has his own set of plastic tools in a big toy toolbox. He is pretending to work on several toy cars.

"You good, little man?" Dean asks before he rolls under the car.

"Yeah." Jack replies. "Just gotta get this a little tighter." Dean grins, watching as Jack pretends to use the wrench on the car. "That should do it." He says, grabbing one of the clean cloths Dean has set aside and pretending to wipe his hands. He puts his hands on his hips in a gesture Dean instantly recognizes as one of his own. "She's all set."

"She looks great, buddy." Dean says.

Jack smiles broadly at Dean. Then he looks back at his cars. "Oh no!" He exclaims. "Now this one has a flat tire."

"Allright, bud, you take care of that one and I will take care of Baby." Dean says seriously, suppressing the smile that's pulling at his lips and sliding under the car smoothly.

As he works, he listens to Jack hum. Suddenly he stops humming and begins talking. At first, Dean thinks he is just pretending to talk to a customer or maybe pretending to mutter about the repair. Dean can't really make out what Jack is saying. As long as he is staying in the "safe zone" that Dean marked off, it doesn't really matter. 

Dean begins draining the oil. Jack really is talking up a storm.  _ Hope he doesn't have an unhappy customer. Those are the worst.  _ Dean muses to himself. 

He strains, and he hears Jack say: "I don't know. What do you think?" He is quiet for a moment, and then: "I could ask my Daddy or my Baba or my Papa or my Mama Eileen."

Another silence. "Um, I like apples and pancakes and macaroni and cheese. And candy. And marshmallows. Oh, and goldfish."

Dean feels a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach.

"Jack, you getting hungry?" Dean yells from under the car, suddenly in a hurry to get the oil changed. He works with practiced efficiency.

"No, Daddy!" Jack calls.

"Okay, just thought I heard you talking about lunch." Dean ventures as he tightens the filter and begins to slide back out from under the car.

"Oh no, Daddy, I was just talking to the man." Jack says.

Dean feels his chest tighten. "What man?" he asks, trying and failing, to keep his tone light. 

Jack smiles and points to an empty space next to him. "That man." He says. "You don't see him?"

Dean frowns, looking at the air next to Jack's finger and seeing nothing. 

"Oh!" Jack says. "Goodbye then. He had to go." Jack shrugs and returns to his cars. 

*

"I'm telling you, Sammy, It wasn't normal. It was like he was talking to someone."

Sam sighs, looking up at his brother from where he is seated in the library. He really needs to get this petition done. The filing deadline is Monday, and there are still a billion exhibits to compile.

"What does Cas say?" Sam asks, knowing that Dean would have already spoken to Cas. While their brotherly communication has improved drastically now that they co-parent, it's unusual for Dean to bring his anxiety to Sam. Sam suspects some part of Dean still feels like he is supposed to have all the answers on this parenting stuff. After all, he did basically raise Sam.

"He isn't worried. He said:" and Dean's voice drops a bit in a facsimile of Cas's voice, “' _ Dean, human children often have active imaginations at this age. The parenting books I read indicate that it is not uncommon to have an imaginary friend or to playact with inanimate objects.' _ " Dean throws his hands up and looks at Sam in disbelief.

"Maybe he's right, Dean. Kids do have active imaginations. Or it could be a zanna. They aren't malevolent. You know that. Sully was my imaginary friend and he was entirely harmless. In fact, he helped me. That's what zanna do."

Dean flops into the chair across from him. "Sure, it could be a zanna, but what if it isn't? Remember that kid in Connecticut? Tyler? He had the imaginary friend who turned out to be a ghost? Or what if it's a reaper. Sammy, what if there is a reaper stalking our kid? I don't know, man. I just have a bad feeling."

Sam looks at his brother. Really looks at him. Sam hasn't seen this look in years. Not since they retired. Sam wants to dismiss it. The bunker is warded against almost everything. Logic dictates that it’s probably nothing. But Sam knows better than to ignore Dean's gut. "I will talk to Jack. See what I can find out. Okay?"

Dean slumps in relief. "Thanks, Sam." He says.

*

Sam can hear Jack laughing down the hall. He walks in to find Jack pretending to pour something from his plastic teapot into cups that have been laid out on the table. Jack is dressed for tea in an old straw hat Cas used to wear in the garden, Mardi Gras beads Dean and Cas brought back from their vacation in New Orleans and a sword and scabbard Eileen bought him for Christmas. 

"Can I have some?" Sam asks, smiling at the kid. Jack looks up, eyes bright. 

"Papa! Come sit down. We were about to have a tea party." Jack says excitedly.

Sam walks over to the tiny table and sits in front of it criss-cross applesauce (he can't fit into the tiny matching chairs).

"Hello, Red Zeppelin" Sam says to the red stuffed dog to his right.

"Nice to see you again, Beary Garcia." He tells the stuffed bear to his left.

Jack pours Sam some "tea" and hands it to him. Sam grabs the tiny cup and saucer and pretends to take a sip. "Ahhhhh." He says and Jack giggles. 

"Would you like some too?" Jack asks, looking behind Sam. Sam follows his gaze, but Jack is staring at empty air. Jack begins to giggle. 

"Jack, what's so funny?" Sam asks casually. 

Jack looks at Sam and his eyes widen slightly. "Nothing."

Sam frowns. "Nothing?"

Jack looks up again towards the empty room, then he nods. "Um, just a 'maginary friend." He says. He smiles again and covers his mouth.

Sam feels a small measure of relief. He supposes it could be something else pretending to be a zanna, but his good memories of Sully flood in.  _ Jack just has his own Sully. Oh, it could even BE Sully.  _

"What's your friend look like?" Sam asks, hoping to hear about rainbow suspenders and a goofy grin.

Jack tilts his head in thought. "He has red hair and polka dot clothes . . ." Jack says.  _ Not Sully then.  _ "and a white face and a big red nose."

Sam freezes. "A big red . . . ." He feels his breath hitching.

"Yup. Like the clown in Paw Patrol." Jack says happily. Sam fights the urge to scoop Jack up and run."Oh, he says he’s a clown, too! Isn't that funny, Papa? Just like in Paw Patrol." 

Sam smiles tightly and says through gritted teeth: "What's the clown doing now?"

"Shh. Papa, stop interrupting." Jack admonishes him. Then he looks at the empty air again and says, "One time Jenna told James that Bubble Guppies was a baby show and he started crying and Ms. Lucy told Jenna that it isn't nice to call things baby shows and besides, there is no such thing as a baby show and we should just enjoy what we like and then she made Jenna apologize to James. So whoever told your kid that 'maginary friends were for babies was wrong and they should probably talk to Ms. Lucy."

As Jack speaks, Sam inches closer to Jack, preparing to grab him. "Jack," Sam says quietly, "where exactly is the clown?"

Jack smiles and waves. "Oh, he just left. Sorry, Papa. Did you want to see him? He was very silly."

*

" _ A clown _ ." Sam whispers forcefully to Cas.

"Sam, that doesn't mean that he is evil. Plenty of zanna take on the form of a clown. A lot of kids like clowns." Cas replies. 

They are whispering urgently in the hallway outside of Jack's room. Eileen is with Jack telling him one of her stories. 

Jack loves Eileen's stories. They are always silly. From Jack's room, the sound of laughter is filtering out. But the giggles do nothing to suppress the worry in Sam's eyes. 

"A clown, Cas." Sam repeats.

Cas suppresses a sigh. First Dean and now Sam. It isn't that Cas thinks that it's impossible that a malevolent spirit is stalking Jack. Given their history, there are any number of bad entities who would target Jack. For vengeance. For fun. For personal gain.

It's just that the bunker is warded and Jack is a nephilim. He's a kid, but he isn't helpless. Besides he is protected by four Winchesters, all of the power of Heaven and the Queen of Hell herself. Who would be stupid enough to mess with him?

"Let me see what I can find out, Sam." Cas concedes. A thought occurs to him. "Listen, can you hold off on telling Dean? We will talk about it all tonight, okay?" Cas knows how anxious Dean is about this. He isn't sure Sam realizes exactly how bad Dean's anxiety can be. Dean works hard to hide it. To avoid it if he can. If Cas can get more information first, maybe he can spare Dean some worry. If not, at least he will be there with Dean.

Sam swallows and nods. "All yours." Eileen says to Cas, smiling sweetly. 

After storytime, Cas generally oversees nightly prayers. A lot of kids say prayers before they go to bed, but Jack's prayers aren't exactly typical. 

Sometimes he prays to God, or Aunt Amara as he calls her. Technically, under human custom, she should probably be Grandma Amara or Great Aunt Amara, but Amara says she isn't the "nana" type. Besides, things would just be confusing when she shows up for family events given that she appears to be the same age as Jack's parents (and things are already confusing enough). 

Occasionally, he will send a prayer out over Angel Radio. If he has big news.

But most nights he picks one of Cas's siblings (who then pass the news along unless he tells them not to). He usually picks based on what he wants to tell them. For example, Hannah loves animals and gets all of Jack's animal news. Balthazar once told Jack he was the inspiration for Beauty and the Beast. He claimed he took a giant beast as a vessel. Cas is almost entirely certain he made it up, but Jack believes it (and somehow took that to mean that Balthazar is actually every Disney prince), so he gets all princess-related and Disney news. Indra spent several centuries overseeing the Bugs and Insects division, so they get all the critter updates (as Jack calls them). Anael hears about make-up and fashion. Anna hears all music updates. 

And then there is Gabriel. Gabriel gets everything else. If Jack has a favorite among Cas's siblings, much to Dean and Sam's dismay, it's Gabriel. That's because Jack thinks Gabriel is hilarious. Almost as hilarious as Gabriel finds himself. 

"Hey, Jack." Cas says, brushing his hair off his forehead. His blonde hair is long like Papa's. Jack looks up at Cas with his clear blue eyes and gives him a crooked smile that reminds him so much of Dean it nearly takes Cas's breath away. 

Cas considers broaching the subject of the invisible man before prayer, but instead he asks, "Who are we praying to tonight?"

"Uncle Gabriel!" Jack exclaims. 

Cas nods and smiles fondly at Jack. Prayers require only intention. There are no special words or required rituals. Still, Jack closes his eyes tightly, scrunching his entire face and clasps his hands in front of him.

"Uncle Gabriel. Hi! I met a clown today and he was very silly!" Cas notices he leaves out the invisible part. 

"And then Mama Eileen told me the silliest story . . ." Jack proceeds to retell his bedtime story. Cas has no doubt it made more sense, narratively, when Eileen told it. Jack is jumping around a bit in his retelling and he keeps collapsing into giggles when he gets to the funny parts. Apparently the story involved a brave steed and his trusty sidekick knight who saved a beautiful dragon from an evil princess.

Cas half listens, enjoying the sound of Jack's joy. He tries to figure out how to broach the subject of the invisible man with Jack. He doesn't want Jack to feel like he is in trouble. He certainly doesn't want to scare him. 

"So then the witch turned the evil princess into a guinea pig and Mama Eileen said that is a story for another time. Do you think the witch was Aunt Rowena? I should ask her if she has the guinea pig princess still. Do you think if Uncle Balthazar kissed her, she would turn back into a princess?"

Jack stops talking for a moment. Cas can't tell if Gabriel is praying a response, or if Jack is thinking. Cas feels a slight twinge, wishing he could tap into Angel Radio, but he reminds himself it wouldn't matter. This is direct prayer communication. 

"Uncle Gabriel, I wish you would be here when I wake up tomorrow for breakfast. Will you come visit?" Jack is quiet for a moment and Cas knows what's coming next.

"Baba, can Uncle Gabriel come over tomorrow? He says he can come if you say it's okay. Please?" Jack combines his Papa's puppy dog eyes with his Daddy's grin, knowing full well that it's Cas's weakness.  _ Having an angel around could be useful for this whole mystery guest thing. Besides, tomorrow is Sunday.  _ Sunday is Dean's food prep day. He usually prepares a feast, storing the leftovers for easy meals the rest of the week.

"Okay." Cas agrees hesitantly, knowing Dean will be less than thrilled to see his brother-in-law first thing.

Jack smiles broadly. "He said okay. Yeah. Okay. I will. Night. Amen." Jack finishes. "He wants chocolate chip pancakes." Jack announces to Cas.

"Of course he does." Cas agrees with amusement. "Listen, Jack . . ." Cas begins, but Jack holds up a hand.

"Hold on. Someone is praying." Jack says. 

Cas frowns. Other than responses to Jack's prayers, nobody prays to Jack.

Jack starts speaking and Cas sucks in a breath.  _ Is that Enochian?  _ It can't be. Jack doesn't speak Enochian. They had decided - well, Cas had decided - that growing up in a dual language household was enough. Jack speaks English and ASL. Adding Enochian to the mix had seemed overwhelming.

At least, that was the excuse Cas gave. If Enochian also reminded him of his memories of Heaven, and Cas didn't really want to think about Heaven, nobody needed to know that.

Yet here Jack is having a conversation in Enochian. Perfect pronunciation. No hesitation. In fact, his Enochian is clearer than his English.

Cas listens to his side of the conversation. "Hello . . . Um, yes. I do like them. I saw some at the aquarium when Baba took me . . . Yes . . . Okay . . . Amen."

Jack smiles and lays back as if nothing has happened. He yawns.

"Jack, who was that?" Cas asks. 

Jack smiles sweetly. "Andiel? They said they are one of your siblings."

Cas nods absentmindedly. Andiel. He hasn't seen them in ages. He believes they are in Marine Wildlife. Their paths have barely crossed in millennia. 

"What did they want?" Cas asks.

"They want to know if I like sea turtles."

_ Huh.  _ That was not what Cas had expected.  _ Maybe the angels are thinking about a present for Jack. I will have to talk to them. We can't have a sea turtle in the bunker. _

It's weird to have Andiel be the one to reach out, but Jack's words do get broadcast on Angel Radio. The angels all feel like they know Jack.

"How did you know Enochian? The language you were just speaking?"

Jack shrugs. "Just do." His eyelids are getting heavy and Cas recognizes that he has run out of time. They will have to speak in the morning.

"Goodnight Jack." Cas says and kisses him on the forehead. 

Then he gets up and walks down the hall to tradeoff with Dean, who always goes in last to sing Jack to sleep. Cas can hear the soft sounds of Dean's voice singing "Hey Jude."

"How did it go?" Sam asks anxiously. 

He wishes he had answers, but he just has more questions. Cas feels a wave of panic.  _ Angels. It has to be angels. Could he be a vessel? Angels can't be vessels. That’s impossible.  _ But Jack isn't an angel. He is one of the nephilim and they have always been forbidden. Cas has no idea if nephilim can be vessels. It's unprecedented to have one who is old enough to verbalize consent. And having Grace isn't enough to say Jack couldn't serve as a vessel.  _ Angels have shared a vessel before. I have shared a vessel before. _

"Cas?" Sam asks, worry clouding his voice.

"Let’s wait for Dean." Cas replies. He closes his eyes and focuses on Dean’s voice drifting down the hallway. "I think his instincts were right. We have a problem. A big one."

*

"Freaking angels." Dean mutters. "Not you, Cas." he amends, but Cas doesn’t seem to have taken offense. If anything he looks angrier than Dean, and that is saying something. 

Sam is nodding now. "We should have known. The bunker is heavily warded. I checked the wards again just last week. Nothing can get in except angels, obviously, because they are . . . family." 

"But how does that explain the zanna?" Eileen asks. 

Cas's anger gives way to confusion for a moment. "Zanna are angels. Guardian angels assigned to children who need them."

Sam's eyebrows shoot up. "Huh. The lore categorizes them with either djinn or fairies. I had no idea they were angels. That's . . ." He looks at Dean with excitement burning in his eyes. "Sully was an angel, Dean. I had my very own angel."

"Focus." Dean snaps and his brother's face falls. He feels a stab of guilt. "Sammy . . ." he starts in a softer tone but Sam shakes his head.

"No, you're right Dean. We need to focus on Jack." The acid churns in Dean's stomach as he sips his coffee and adds more fuel to the fire. 

"Ok, so how do we figure out if Jack has a passenger? The normal tests won't work. He is part angel." Eileen says.

"I don't know." Cas says, looking at the ceiling. "Maybe Gabriel can help. He's coming for breakfast." Cas looks guiltily at Dean. 

"For once, I will be happy to see him." Dean says.

"I don't get it." Eileen says. "If Jack is hosting an angel, why did his responses still sound like him? Even in Enochian. He didn't say anything that sounded like he was possessed. I don't think we have the full picture."

Dean wants to punch something. They have worked so hard to build this life with their son. To protect him. And now something is coming for him. He used to worry about this a lot. Used to stay up at night thinking about all the ways this could go wrong. All the ways he could lose this.

But he has gotten soft. He let his guard down. And now something has come for his son. "Whatever this is, they don’t know who they’re messing with." Dean says angrily.

He feels a hand on his lower back.  _ Cas.  _ He leans into him.

Sam sighs. "I hate to say it, but I don’t think we can resolve this tonight. Eileen is right. It seems like Jack is getting angel visitors, but nothing indicates that he has agreed to be a vessel. Weird occurrences aside, Jack is still Jack."

"Perhaps some rest and we start fresh in the morning? I think all we can do for now is wait and watch." Eileen says. 

Dean feels the sudden urge to plow into Jack's room and sleep on the floor holding a gun, an angel blade, some holy oil and possibly the grenade launcher. Just in case Jack needs him. That gives him an idea. Dean goes barreling down the hall, everyone else following in his wake. He begins pulling down boxes in the storage closet, each marked "JACK" in Cas's precise handwriting.

_ Where is it? Where is it? Ah!  _

He pulls out the monitor and the two bases they used when Jack was a baby. 

With a way to monitor Jack, everyone is able to relax just a little bit. Dean doesn't expect he will actually be able to go to sleep. He lays in bed staring at the little screen, listening to Jack's slow breathing. Behind him, Cas has wrapped his arms around Dean, warm breath on the back of Dean's neck. Dean lifts his hand to grasp Cas's where it wraps around his chest. Despite all the fear, he feels a flicker of comfort. A surge of love. He listens to his boys snoring peacefully and eventually feels his eyes grow heavy in the darkness.  _ Gotta watch over Jack.  _ Dean thinks as he drifts to sleep. 

*

Elieen wakes with a start. The monitor is flashing. Something's wrong. She jumps out of bed grabbing a pistol and an angel blade as she runs down the hall. She doesn’t have anywhere to tuck them. She wore yoga pants and a tank top to bed, which still gives her plenty of maneuverability, but she wishes she had a belt.

Eileen bursts into Jack’s room, flipping the light switch as she goes. Jack blinks at her with sleepy eyes. He has tears streaming down his face, but whatever made him cry seems to have passed now. 

“Are you okay?” she asks.

He nods. “Sorry,” he signs, “the woman just scared me.”

Eileen looks around the room. It’s empty, but that doesn’t tell her much. “What woman?”

“The pretty one right there.” he signs. “The Black woman in black clothes. She says her name is . . .” he stops. He doesn’t know how to sign it. He looks at Eileen and says “Billie.”

Eileen feels a surge of adrenaline. “Get away from him.” She screams as she runs and throws herself in front of Jack. “SAM! CAS! DEAN!”  _ Why didn’t they wake up? Where are they? Has Billie done something to them? _

Jack taps her arm urgently. She looks at him. He signs “She’s gone. She said she was sorry to interrupt.” Jack looks more confused than scared.

“What did she want?” Eileen asks, trying to look calm for Jack. From the corner of her eye, she sees Sam, Dean and Cas run in with weapons raised. Jack’s eyes widen in fear.

Eileen looks at them and signs. “Billie. She’s gone now.”

Jack looks around at everyone in his room. “I got scared. I didn’t expect her to be in my room. I was sleeping. Am I in trouble?”

“No, sweetie. We just need to know what she said.” Eileen repeats.

“I didn’t understand what she wanted.” he says uncertainly. “She asked me something about reapers. Mama Eileen, what’s a reaper?”

Eileen surges out of the bed and grabs a container of sidewalk chalk from the bookshelf. She begins drawing wards on the wall. It will trap Jack in his room without assistance, but it will keep the angels out. Including any reapers that might come along. Sam joins her, grabbing some chalk of his own.

From the corner of her eye, she can see Dean sit next to Jack. He begins calming him and tucking him back into bed. She can’t see what he is saying, but she assumes it is something reassuring. She looks over her shoulder at Cas, whose shoulders slump. “I’ll make coffee,” he says. 

*

As it happens, there wasn’t some nefarious cone of silence around Jack’s room and the guys haven’t gotten so soft that they failed to wake up at the sounds of Jack’s cries. No, it just turns out that they forgot to check the volume on the monitors. They are out of practice from the baby days. In their defense, it has been years.

They huddle in the kitchen drinking the coffee Cas made. It’s 4:00 am. Cas misses the days where he didn’t need sleep right about now. 

Dean is pacing through the kitchen. Cas doesn’t bother to try to calm him down. He feels the same way, to be honest. There isn’t much comfort when Death personified just visited your child. 

“Gabriel.” Dean says. “We need Gabriel.” He looks up at the ceiling and says “Oh Gabriel, get your happy little ass over here right now. Amen.”

Gabriel appears leaning against the counter, a smirk on his face. “Why, Dean,” he says, “I didn’t know you thought about my happy little ass. I’m flattered. Not sure Cas is the type to share, though.”

He tweaks an eyebrow at Cas, who rolls his eyes. “Hey, little bro. It’s a little early for pancakes, isn’t it?” Gabriel says.

“Gabriel, it’s Jack.” Cas says with exasperation. Gabriel must see something in his face, because the smirk drops immediately and, for a second, Cas sees Gabriel like he used to be. Before. 

“What? I can feel him. He’s fine . . . and . . . oh, those are new. Angel warding?” Gabriel looks at Cas. “What happened?”

Cas explains it from the beginning. The mysterious angel in the garage. The clown. Andiel and the conversation in Enochian. When he gets to Billie, Gabriel’s mouth sets in a hard line. 

“Well, the Enochian is easy enough to explain. Of course Jack speaks Enochian.” Gabriel says.

Cas feels a flood of shame. “I, uh, I never taught him Enochian. I just thought with two other languages, it would be . . . a lot.” he says, embarrassment flooding through him. He can’t look at Gabriel, scared to see disappointment.

“Well, sure, that makes sense.” Gabriel says kindly. Cas looks at him and he again recognizes a different Gabriel. The Gabriel who cared. The Gabriel who tried to protect Cas. He smiles slightly. “But, Cas, you didn’t have to teach him. He’s part angel. He was born knowing it.”

It clicks.  _ Of course he knows Enochian. We all know Enochian. I never learned it. It was just part of me. _

“Well, that’s one mystery solved.” Dean says from behind Cas. “But it still doesn’t explain why our home has suddenly become Grand Central Station: Angel Edition.”

“Let me see what I can find out.” Gabriel says quietly. 

He is quiet for a moment, then he begins laughing. He catches his breath and the smirk returns and says “Oh, Michael is going to have to explain this one to you himself.” 

Michael appears alongside Gabriel looking distinctly uncomfortable, his posture stiff and his eyes narrowed at his brothers. “Gabriel. Castiel.” he says formally.

Gabriel slaps Michael on the back, earning him a glare. “Come on, Michael, why don’t you explain to everyone why their house has suddenly become the land of misfit angels.”

Michael adjusts his suit. “Amara is away.”

“Away? What do you mean away?” Dean asked.

“She is in Atlantic City for the weekend. For a poker tournament.” Michael explains.  _ A poker tournament?  _

“So, what, she just fucked off for the weekend for a quick vacation? Can she do that?” Dean asks.

“She’s God.” Michael explains. “It is not my place to question her.”

It clicks then. Why Gabriel was so amused. “So you, as the highest ranking angel, were left in charge.” Castiel says.

Michael nods once. “I have orders to only disturb her if there is an emergency. Otherwise, I am to run Heaven as usual.”

“So why are all the angels coming here?” Eileen asks.

Michael looks at an empty spot on the wall. “There may have been a few miscommunications.”

His face softens. “I told you this would happen.” Adam says. “Well, not this. I had no idea they would come bother my sort-of family, but I told you they wouldn’t be able to handle it without your guidance.”

“Yes, I know, you are very smart.” Michael says dismissively. 

“Hey,” Dean cuts in, “how about you start from the beginning?”

*

As it happens, Amara decided that she needed a break from the constant demands of being God. Things have been quiet lately and everything runs pretty smoothly, so Amara chose a weekend when there weren’t supposed to be too many major events. She left detailed instructions for the angels and put Michael in charge.

It should have been a fairly simple task, but when do things ever go as planned?

The first minor crisis was orientation for a group of humans. Amara likes to have food set out for the humans when they arrive to help ease the transition. Typically, she is able to dictate meals in advance based on the new resident’s preferences and desires. Amara had specified all the meals for all the people who were expected to die over the weekend.

The problem arose when an unexpected catastrophe occurred. Amara is usually able to predict who will be arriving in Heaven, or at least who has the highest probability of arrival, but free will means that sometimes even the best predictions go awry. An unexpected group of new residents showed up on Saturday. One of them had decided to make his own fireworks based on a YouTube video. The result had been . . . explosive.

The Orientation Committee was thrown into a tizzy. They had no idea what to serve the humans. They sent a representative to Michael for direction, but he blew the angel off. "Just feed them human food. It doesn't matter." Michael had said.

"But angels need orders." Castiel points out. "They aren't used to using their own judgment."

"Can't take a shit without being told how many squares to use to wipe." Gabriel adds gleefully. He is enjoying Michael's discomfort immensely, especially when he cringes at the vulgar language.

Michael stares at his siblings crossly. 

"I tried to tell him that." Adam breaks in. "But did he listen?"

The angels didn’t dare bother God over this. So they turned to Jack.

"Why Jack?" Sam asks. 

"Because when he and Amara split and Jack reverted to infancy, some of the divine power remained in him." Michael explains sourly. 

"He still has God juice." Dean summarizes. Michael gives him a look that very clearly conveys that "God juice" is not the term he would have used. Ever. But he nods slightly.

"So, wait, does that mean the new humans got macaroni and cheese, pancakes, apples, candy and marshmallows?" Dean asks with amusement. 

"And goldfish." Michael confirms. "Though I think there might have been a slight misunderstanding there."

"They didn't try to serve actual goldfish." Sam says in horror. 

"They did." Michael says grimly. 

Beside Castiel, Gabriel begins laughing again. 

“Ok, so that explains the first visit. What about the clown?” Sam asks, cringing slightly at the thought of the zanna.

Adam rolls his eyes. “ _ Somebody _ told Ruffles that he already had his orders and not to bother us again.”

Michael takes back over, his face clouded with anger. “We have protocols for these things. He has a handbook. He should know by now that he needs to consult it. I am busy.”

“You are being an asshole and you know it.” Adam snaps back. 

“Hell of a time for a lover’s quarrel.” Dean offers.

Before either of them can turn on Dean, Cas jumps in. “So I guess Andiel had a similar problem getting orders?” 

“By that time, you two were fighting, weren’t you?” Gabriel offers. “I heard it go out on Angel Radio. Don’t consult Michael if you can help it. I just didn’t realize he was in charge this weekend.”

Michael sighs but refuses to look at anyone, instead staring a hole into the wall. 

“So as a result, Andiel asks Jack for direction on sea turtles and Billie shows up because she needs direction on reaper deployment.” Sam says, putting the pieces together. "You two need to talk." Sam says to Michael and Adam. 

"He just needs to remember that I am in charge, and his input is not needed." Michael says haughtily.

"Oh yeah. That worked out real well so far, didn't it?" Adam snaps back. It's exhausting and somewhat confusing watching them fight like this.

"Besides, don't forget our agreement. You may be in charge of Heaven, but you don't control me." Adam spits out. "I can revoke my consent at any time. That is the agreement we made. You are bound."

There is silence now. Adam looks like he knows he has gone too far, but his mouth hardens into a stubborn line. _ Is stubbornness a genetic trait?  _ Cas muses sardonically. 

"I don't need you." Michael says dangerously.

"I don't need you either." Adam retorts. 

Eileen breaks in. "What are the angels doing now? If they need guidance. They can't go to Jack. He is warded. They clearly can't go to Michael." She says glancing over at him.

"I guess we will just have to tell them to go to the next in command while we work this out." Sam smiles sweetly at Gabriel. "Gabriel, who would that be?"

"You," Gabriel responds, pointing at Sam, "are my LEAST favorite brother-in-law." He sighs. "Fine, I will be in the library running the angel helpline." He looks hopefully at Dean. "With a stack of chocolate chip pancakes?"

Dean smirks. "Now that I am your favorite brother-in-law? With extra whipped cream."

*

They call in Mia Vallens, a therapist (and shapeshifter) they met on a case a while back. She is gracious when they wake her up and she agrees to let Gabriel put her in a virtual therapy session with Michael and Adam. 

Dean doesn't envy her. Sure, she understands that the world out there contains more than just humans, but providing therapy to an archangel and his pissed off boyfriend, neither of whom is particularly good with feelings (and that's coming from him)? No thanks. 

Dean does what he does best. He takes care of his family. He cooks pancakes (with chocolate chips for Jack and Gabriel). Bacon and even turkey bacon. Quiche (which is really just pie). Blueberry muffins. It's a feast. 

He's running on coffee and fumes, but Jack is safe. That's a win. An easy one at that. Nobody got ganked. Nobody had to be stitched up. 

Dean grabs Cas as he walks by and pulls him into a kiss. "Get a room!" teases Sam. Dean winks at Cas and turns back to the stove.

Jack comes running in holding his stuffed snowman (it's technically Olaf from Frozen but Dean insists his name is David Snowie). Eileen destroyed the sigils once they knew he was safe, and Jack is none the wiser about last night's events other than his early morning visit with Billie.

Jack is full of energy, bouncing from one parent to another with glee. 

"Pancaaaaakes!" He yells when he sees the stack next to Dean. 

"Hey, dude. How many you want?" Dean asks.

"Ten!" Jack yells. 

Dean laughs. "Let's start with two."

Dean is serving them up when Jack shouts, "Uncle Gabe, you're here." He makes it halfway across the room before he sees Mia and he gets shy. 

"Everything good?" Dean asks Mia.

Mia nods, her face unreadable. 

Gabriel, on the other hand, grins lasciviously. "They asked for some extra time in the virtual room. Where they can . . ." He looks at Jack pointedly, " _ talk _ face-to-face." 

Dean shudders a bit at the implications, but then shrugs. "Good for them. I think." 

They have a big family breakfast (with Michael and Adam joining them closer to lunchtime looking slightly sheepish but more relaxed).

"Maybe we don't have to mention this to Amara." Michael says tentatively.

Dean looks at Cas. He shrugs and raises his eyebrows. "Ok, but you owe us." Dean agrees. 

*

Later, Jack takes his visitors up to see the garden. He and Cas always spend Sunday afternoons tending to it. Dean admits he gets a small bit of amusement at the idea of Jack dragging two archangels upstairs to see his azalea bushes. 

Eileen is running errands, so Sam sets up in the kitchen while Dean cooks. He is clearly tired of whatever he is working on. 

"See? I told you it was something harmless." Sam teases.

"Bitch." Dean throws back at him with a look that says:  _ I know you are full of shit. _

"Jerk." Sam counters with a look that says:  _ yeah, but you love me anyway. _

Dean turns back to cooking chicken breasts.

"I guess it's a good thing that Jack didn't have a zanna, right? They watch over kids who need them. He's happy. He doesn't need one. Besides, Jack has plenty of guardian angels." Dean says. 

"Yeah, though it would have been nice to see Sully again." Sam says. "I can't believe I had my own angel."

Dean can see it in his eyes. He is thinking about what was done to him. Thinking about Azazel.

"Of course you did." Dean says. Then, knowing he will regret it, "Maybe you can invite him over some night to meet Jack."

Sam grins and nods.

Dean sighs, preparing himself for more chaos. But he smiles to himself as he does it. He'll take the win. 

**Author's Note:**

> So, that was ridiculous. I hope in a good way. A few notes.
> 
> On Eileen: I struggled with what to call Eileen here. Jack was so young, that it is very possible that he might call her Mom or Mama. Many adopted kids (like mine) call the mother who raises them “Mom.” However, I decided for this fic that Sam and Eileen were probably dating when Jack was very young, so I have decided that he called her Eileen (probably Ween) when he was very young and then added the Mama in front of it. That is probably way too much time thinking about that. Anyway, in this one she is “Mama Eileen.” 
> 
> On zanna classification: I don’t believe we ever actually got a classification for the zanna and the internet tells me they could be fairy, djiin or angel adjacent. Not to be Sam coded, but the lore is actually pretty rad, though I note that it appears the proper spelling is “zana” (see also rougarou/rugaru). Within the Supernatural mythology, I thought they worked well as a classification of angel (like a cupid or a reaper), and that allowed me to tell the story I wanted so that was where I settled.
> 
> On Amara: I decided this series would be a bunch of standalone oneshots as a break from the very plotty fix-it I did. As a result, my backstory both changes based on the one shot and is typically pretty nebulous. For this one, I wanted Amara to be God and I wanted Jack to have some history of Godlike power in order to have the resolution we get above. So, I came up with a backstory that is alluded to but that I don’t really dig into. If you are curious, the backstory is this:
> 
> Jack and Amara were united as they were in the show. However, Jack wanted to experience a normal life as a child and Amara was willing to/ready to become God. In order to make Jack whole again, he would have to start over as an infant, which is how the Bunker Family ended up being Three Men, Eileen, and a Baby. There were probably tears and discussions of whether Jack would still be Jack, etc., None of which fit in the tone of this story. 
> 
> Tell me what you thought. I appreciate all of the comments and kudos way more than I should. Also, find me on Tumblr under the same name. 


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